The United States and Japan will step up their defence cooperation to deal with the threat from nuclear-armed North Korea as tensions in East Asia remain high, officials from the two allies said on Thursday.

Abu Bakar Bashir makes confused freedom bid in Bali

Abu Bakar Bashir has put his bid for freedom before the court, but confused his legal team's argument by defending his donations to a terror training camp.

Bashir's lawyers argue his convictions for supporting the Aceh training camp should be overturned and the ageing cleric freed from a 15-year sentence because he believed his donations would be sent to Palestine.

But the 77-year-old told the court he was aware the camp was conducting paramilitary training and was obligated as a Muslim to support it, saying it was "the least I could do".

"Physical and armed training is God's commandment so I had to help them with donations," the cleric told the court.

"This was only a good deed but instead it was considered as terror."

Bashir is best known to Australians as the founder of the group Jemaah Islamiah, responsible for the Bali bombings.

He was freed in 2006 of charges relating to the 2002 Bali attack, which claimed 202 lives including 88 Australians.

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Experts say even after four years in an island prison cell he still wields symbolic influence.

Hundreds turned out to watch the trial on screens provided outside the courtroom on Tuesday and cheered on the cleric with cries of "God is great!" and "free Bashir".

He was milder than in past public appearances but became animated when calling on the judges and the prosecution to repent for bringing the charges against him.

Bashir's lawyer Achmad Michdan will also argue the use of video conference in the 2011 trial was unfair.

"If possible, we want him to be released," he told reporters.

"But if even on that, the judges in Supreme Court have a different opinion, at least a sentence reduction from this heaviest punishment."

The lawyers have already succeeded in having the application for judicial review moved from Jakarta to Cilacap - the town closest to Nusakambangan - based on Bashir's health.

They claim Bashir has withdrawn his support for ISIS since being photographed making a prison pledge to the group in 2014.

The judges have asked for Bashir to be present at the next hearing in Cilacap on January 26.

In the 2011 sentencing that Bashir is now challenging, he was found to have clearly "incited others" to commit terrorist acts.

The judges found Bashir used the group Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT) as a front to fund the Aceh cell known as Takjim al-Qaeda Serambi Mekah (al-Qaeda of the Verandah of Mecca), which was understood to be planning attacks on police and Western targets.